The New Girl
by Mrs. Danniiey Harkness
Summary: When Abby's best friend becomes part of the N.C.I.S team, Gibbs isn't pleased. But is there another reason he doesn't like Dani?


**THE NEW GIRL**

Sliding a milky white hand over her keyboard Dani Valente gave a small sigh. She'd transferred to N.C.I.S. a few weeks before and had thought that it would be an amazing opportunity but her new... "Boss" hadn't exactly wanted her there. Sure, Gibbs hadn't given her as many dirty looks this week but she still couldn't quite pin-point what it was that she had done so wrong. She understood that everyone was upset about the death of Jenny, the Director but it seemed that Gibbs was taking out his fury on her... or to be more exact, he was pretending that she wasn't there, including when she bought the other members of the team coffee. She'd set the coffee on his desk and he'd totally ignored it. Even Tony had been freaked out that Gibbs hadn't downed the coffee before going back to hating her. Tony was in fact the only person in the ball-pen who had instantly liked her. Although that may have been because she hadn't been wearing very many clothes when she started. Since then she'd pulled her act together and put more on. Or else it was because she also had an Italian background. But it was probably the clothes.

Once apon a time she'd worked for the F.B.I, had loads of friends and was always chosen for the good assignments. Now she was lucky if Gibbs let her get the coffee. She'd only moved to N.C.I.S when Abby handed in Dani's C.V to Lance, the new Director, without Dani saying okay, but when she got the call to say she got the job she was confused but very pleased. Abby and Dani had been best friends since they were three and Abby moved into the house next door. Although Dani and Abby were total opposites even as children, they had stayed to become friends through-out high school and then collage, sharing a dorm and picking the same subjects but they knew they would have been split up eventually but Abby always pulled through with keeping them in touch, mainly with silly nights out on the town where Abby got hopelessly drunk and dragged Dani down with her. Ziva was nice to her as well but that was after Dani told her that she wasn't after Tony and Ziva had gotten offended and they had ended up laughing and comparing ex-boyfriends. Ziva's list had been a LOT longer than Dani's since Dani had only dated two guys; her collage English professor and her big brother's best friend. Both of which had been a lot older than her. She'd always had a thing for older guys and had even had a bit of a thing for Gibbs when she started but it faded the more time she worked there.

Dani was silently wondering why Gibbs hated her when Ziva walked over, placing a hand on Dani's shoulder. She jumped at Ziva's touch, having not heard Ziva call over to her or make her way over to Dani's desk which was secluded from the rest of the team, hidden behind the divider and plasma. "Are you alright, Dani? You look very green." Ziva said with a frown which made Dani laugh, "I think you mean that I looked _"Blue," _not green. I'm fine thanks, just zoned out for a few minutes. Are you heading home?"Ziva nodded and made her good-byes. A few minutes later Dani was alone as she tried to focus on her paper-work. There was a ding from the lift as someone came to the floor but Dani had once again zoned out. In wasn't until a cup of coffee was placed on her desk that she noticed Gibbs who had narrowed his eyes at her. "Urm thanks Boss. Ziva went home a few minutes ago and Tim and Tony went to follow up on a lead." She said as her cheeks went a pale pink colour. Gibbs nodded and went back to his desk. Looking around Dani couldn't help but notice that Gibbs had only got coffee for himself and Dani. She took the lid off the top and peered into the cup with a frown; it had milk so it was defiantly for her since everyone else had stopped putting milk in their coffee to make Gibbs happy. She had thought he would have bought it for Ziva, thinking she was still there since Gibbs had never bought her coffee before.

Unsure why he was being so... un-Gibbs-ish she got up from her seat and brought the completed paper-work to his desk and smiled at him in the way she always did, even though she never got a smile in reply, "I finished the paper-work you wanted. Anything else you want me to type up?" With a quick glance at the clock, Gibbs shook his head and went back to whatever it was he was writing, "No, you should go home. It's eleven thirty." Dani stood motionless in front of his desk until, after a few moments Gibbs looked up at her with a questioning look. "I can't really go home yet." Dani said with an embarrassed glance at him. He sighed, "And that would be because....?" She tried to think up some rational excuse but couldn't think of one. She ran a hand through her wavy brown hair and smiled embarrassedly, "Well... my parents are kind of in town and have... kind of taken over my apartment so I'm going to wait until they go to bed but they'll wait up for me first so... well, um, I'm going to wait here and catch up on some paper-work for a few hours." After a few seconds Gibbs couldn't help but laugh, "You deal with murderers every day and you're Afraid of your own parents?" he shook his head as if he were angry but the smile didn't leave his lips, "Grab your jacket, you can stay at my house for the night. I can't have one of my agents falling asleep at her desk in the morning."

Dani wasn't sure if he was serious until he stood up and lifted his coat as well. She was the only person who had never been invited to Gibbs house before, never mind to stay the night. She quickly got her jacket, worried that he'd change his mind and had to jog after him to the elevator. She got inside just as the doors were closing and she flashed him a smile that was –for once- returned. Her mobile buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, reading the name that was flashed across the front, "Mom" she shook her head and knocked her mother's call off before jamming the phone back in her pocket, much to Gibbs amusement. "If you met my mother you'd understand." She said with a small smirk as she thought of the two meeting. That was not something she would readily miss, especially if her father was there. Her dad had gotten the principle of Dani's high school to change her English class because Dani had a crush on the teacher. If he met Gibbs he'd find some way to make her move to England or somewhere further. "What are your parents like?" Gibbs asked with a frown. He couldn't really image anyone over-ruling Dani and could defiantly not see someone telling her what to do... ever. Her parents were probably push-over's or else Dani wouldn't be quite so unruly. Dani shrugged her pale shoulders, "They're... parent-ish. Boring, picket fence type people. They didn't want me to work for the government in the first place, never-mind become an agent. At the start they blamed themselves but now they just blame me." For a moment, Gibbs could have sworn he saw another side of Dani but then she gave him the smile that had nearly broken his hatred of her on that first day. The truth was, Gibbs didn't hate Dani - He hated that she was an F.B.I. and no matter what Abby said, he had been sure that it wasn't that easy to change teams but maybe he had been wrong about her. _Well_, he thought with a hidden smile, _I must trust her; she's staying in my house._

As the two of them walked into Gibbs' house Dani took a small glance around and took in her surroundings; bare minimum and neat as she had expected. What she hadn't expected was for Gibbs to walk down a flight of stairs into the basement. She silently followed him and tried to hold in a laugh as she saw the soft oak boat in the centre of the room. "So, is the boat for anything in particular or did you just get a craving?" She asked with a small smirk as she walked down the stairs. He laughed softly and lifted two semi-clean glasses from the counter-top. Pouring bourbon into the glasses he gently pushed the stool in Dani's direction. Dani leaned over his shoulder and for a heart stopping moment he wondered if she was about to kiss him. Obviously that was what she intended because she smiled softly and picked up one of the glasses before running a hand over the wood of the boat. _She knows exactly what she's doing_, Gibbs thought as he took a gulp from the glass, _She wants me to want her... okay, I do but she wants me to ADMIT to wanting her. Idiotic newbie! _

"Kelly?" Dani murmured as she traced her fingers over the painted letters. Gibbs looked up and watched her for a silent moment as he thought about Kelly and Shannon. Need-less to say, if Shannon were alive she would have made friends with Dani instantly and Kelly would only have been seven years younger than her since Dani was only twenty-seven. It usually upset him to think about what his life would be like if they hadn't died but he shook the thoughts from his head. _No use thinking about What If's_, he thought as he smiled over at Dani who had looked up to see why he was so quiet. "She's my daughter. She died ten years ago along with her mother." Gibbs answered as he retrieved the framed picture that had been taken of the three of them on the beach a few months before he was shipped off. A happier time. For the first time since Dani had started N.C.I.S. Gibbs saw a small glimmer of sadness as she took the picture from him, "They're both so beautiful. You look really happy." Gibbs nodded and watched as Dani put the picture back, "You never wanted to get married?" Dani froze and let a breath of air escape her lips, "Once. My college professor. We were engaged for a few months but, uh... I backed out. I was afraid we would turn out like my parents." "What's so bad about your parents' marriage?" Gibbs asked with a frown as he pretended being engaged to her college professor didn't bother him. Dani looked at him for a few moments, wondering if she could trust him. He must have trusted her at least a little. "There's nothing wrong with my parents' marriage. It's that they don't have one. My mom and dad were married when they were really young then they got a divorce when I was six. Turned out my dad had a lot more family than he led my mom to believe... as in, he has over twenty kids. That's what he does and all of the mothers know it. My mom took him back even though he has five other current girlfriends."

Gibbs was astounded. He hadn't thought that type of thing still went on in today's new world but he was more surprised by Dani's bluntness. It was as if the whole thing didn't bother her. "That's Bigotry. It's illegal, Dani. You should have reported this years ago..." Gibbs said as he walked closer to her. "It isn't illegal since he isn't married to them. Believe me, I looked it up. I tried so hard to get my father in trouble and get him out of my life but my mom just kept pulling me back to him. When you grow up with it, it stops being so weird and starts to get... well, normal." Dani sighed and shrugged her shoulders. It really wasn't something she would tell just anyone, or in fact anyone in the past few years but she trusted Gibbs. Not even Abby knew since Dani had told her they had broken up over money issues. Gibbs felt a small tug on his heart, something that very rarely happened but he still felt aggravated, "What about the other women? His other kids. You were the lucky one; your dad is there for you all of the time but what about them? Didn't that ass-hole ever think of anyone but himself?!" His voice was a low growl now but Dani could hear the anger as he got closer to her. By now her back was pressed against the counter-top with him only inches from her. Her eyes narrowed at him and she near enough shouted, "He may have been an ass but he's still my father! He tried his hardest to be there for all of us and he loves us all so don't you dare talk that shit about him!" Gibbs hands slammed down on the counter on either side of her body and his breath got harder as if he had just been fighting, "Oh come on, Dani! He couldn't love all of you; he couldn't even know you all that well! Don't try to defend him because it won't-"He was cut off as Dani's cell began to ring. Silently he reached into her pocket and she momentarily felt an invasion of privacy. Holding the cell up, screen towards her, Gibbs found himself closer to her than he had been a few moments before. "It's my dad." Dani said before her eyes returned to Gibbs'. His fist tightened around the phone and with more strength than Dani though he had, Gibbs threw the phone into the wall nearest the door. The sound stopped and for a second there was a silent ringing floating through her ears before he looked at her again and in a millisecond his lips were pressed hard onto hers.


End file.
